Norma from OITNB Was a Punk Rocker in the Seventies

It was the Easter egg we never knew we found: In season one of Orange Is the New Black, Norma (Annie Golden) finally opened her mouth during a recital and blew away her fellow inmates with an acoustic rendition of “I Saw the Light.” But her vocal prowess wasn’t a mere miracle of Litchfield. Before starring on OITNB, Golden was the lead singer of the punk rock band the Shirts.

In the late seventies, the band was a frequent opener at the storied East Village music hall CBGB. While headlining, she was discovered by Czech film director Milos Forman, who cast her in the 1979 Broadway production of Hair. Golden experienced a flash of solo fame in the mid eighties when her song “Hang Up the Phone” was included on the soundtrack for John Hughes’s Sixteen Candles. Around the same time, her acting career was also on the rise—she had an arc on Miami Vice as “Prostitute at police station.” Take a look at Golden performing her hit on Late Night with David Letterman in 1986. Praise, Norma!